Page 10 of Elves and Espresso

“Jumping spider,” I corrected. “She’s a jumping spider.”

“In our world, anything that size is a tarantula.”

“That’s nice.” I brushed off his words. “There doesn’t appear to be a hole of any type back here to burrow into.”

“I’m sorry, were you expecting there to be a cave system in this pile of old wood?”

“Well, I had thought it, so I was certain something would happen, but perhaps I hadn’t given it enough time.” Ignoring the crinkles on his forehead, I turned to Dewdrop. “Darling, would you mind preparing something nice and cozy for our night? This burrow should open soon enough. Aleixo and I will find some food.”

“A burrow… Opening?” he questioned. “Oh, never mind… I thought we brought food.”

Honestly, this man had no survival skills, nothing at all. With a sigh bigger than the Realm Guard’s ego, I rubbed my forehead. “I brought non-perishables for when food is scarce. This morning, we find our own food. We will save the food in the bag for another time.”

“Oh… That’s very…”

“Logical? Yes, well, that happens here sometimes.”

We walked off, and I left Dewdrop to get her own work done without interruptions. Aleixo wouldn’t stop talking about some incident he once had in his world. Some kind of spider infestation and how he couldn’t share a room with a spider? I suppose he would need to sleep outside, then. Of course, there was nothing wrong with a night under the stars, but I wasn’t sure he would take to it, what with the other things he could happen upon.

Chapter Nine

“What are you doing?”

It felt like the questions never stopped. I felt like I was with my sister’s newly chatty son as we walked through the forest. “For the millionth time, we’re looking for food.”

“But you keep looking up at the sky.”

“A keen observation.” He was right; I couldn’t resist the nervous glances I kept casting upward. My father would have found me missing by now, if not my sisters, and there would be an uproar throughout the countryside. We had walked for nearly five hours before stopping, so I knew we had another couple of hours before we needed to continue. Yet, I couldn’t escape the nagging feeling that filled me.

“Will we sleep during the day and travel by night?”

I bit back a groan as another question escaped him. “We will travel during the day. The only reason we traveled by night was because we had no choice.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to travel under the cover of night?”

“I cannot travel in the open at night.”

“Why not?”

“Must you ask so many questions?” I snapped. A rustling sound came from the tree line beside us. Flinging a hand up to him, my eyes flew in the direction of the trees. My breath caught, and there was panic in his eyes. We remained like that for a few seconds as the sound grew louder.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle filled the air. My lungs released the air, and I whistled back. Dewdrop appeared, her little legs moving along the soft forest floor, as her little smile flashed in my direction. She stopped before me and reached her front legs up off the ground, tapping them together.

“Dewdrop says the place is ready whenever we are ready to return. The burrow has opened, and she has cushioned it.”

“See. I just don’t think spiders should be the size of small dogs. This is entirely unbelievable. If a spider is big enough to make a ruckus like that through a forest—”

“I don’t mind leaving you out here for the Realm Guard to find you, Aleixo,” I said, the snarkiness clear in my voice. “Dewdrop has many talents and is a brilliant companion. Should you have issues with her, you may leave.”

He was silent after that as we walked through the forest. Dewdrop rode on my shoulder, clicking away in her excited chatter, and I laughed along with what she was saying.

Alexio shot us a glance. “Do you really understand her?”

“Yes. I studied the Klaroinsie tongue many years ago. She also understands English.” Turning around to look at him with a smirk on my face, I added, “Oh, and she said while you may be attractive, you’re very annoying.”

I expected him to have an insult for one of us, but he merely smiled. “So, I’m attractive? Is that a shared sentiment or…?”

Rolling my eyes for the hundredth time that day, I continued to lead us back to the pile of wood. We made it back quicker than I thought, but then again, most of our time had been spent foraging in the area surrounding us.